billy.

Back to school, back to school, to prove to dad I’m not a fool. 

Oh Billy Madison, what a great movie to draw quotes from.  When my sugar levels drop I tend to get a bit weird. 

Anyways, today was a good day. It rained here again.  There is supposed to be a huge storm coming through so hopefully we get some snow. 

I spent most of the day in class then came home and did some homework. There was a home PREDS game, the first in a long time, but I left early because I was feeling sick.    

Overall, not the most exciting day, but I did get my bangs trimmed, so I can see again! Hooray!

hockey.

You knew the topic would come up again.  Now I get to talk about my love of the greatest sport. 

Day 10 - A picture of your favorite sport or favorite athlete.

Hockey, Hockey, Hockey!!  There is nothing I don’t love about the sport, though there are a couple rules I think could be changed. 

All my life I have grown up with hockey and ice rinks.  Everywhere we have moved has been somewhere with hockey except Tennessee. 

When we first moved here, there was only 1 ice rink and 1 or 2 teams for kids.  I have been able to see how the sport has developed in this nontraditional market.  Now, we have our own NHL team, NASHVILLE PREDATORS!!, and though we are short on ice rink time, the sport continues to grow with the kids who have been able to grow up more around the sport.  It’s a pretty neat thing to see. 

Over the summer after the playoffs end, I begin to think about why I love hockey so much.  Here is what I have come up with.

            - The intensity of the game.  No other sport has quite the level of intensity, even when its playoff time.  I mean occasionally there will be a slower hockey game, but that is rare.  In the south everyone loves football, and I have been to many games from high school to college, even NFL, and never really enjoyed myself as much as I do at hockey games.  I found that football has a lot of down time, which significantly slows down the pace of the game. 

            - Fights.  Come on what other sport besides obviously MMA allows fighting.  Hockey players have to be quick, agile, and tough or they won’t last.  I know people who consider hockey barbaric because of this, but in the players’ situation, I bet you would do the same.  Check out this fight night in Philadelphia. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1-25s4uwFQ

           

            - The Stanley Cup.  No other trophy is as well recognized at Lord Stanley’s Cup.  It is an icon.  The prize is worth the battle that precedes it.  To have your name inscribed into a ring on the cup to be seen forever is probably the best feeling in the world.  I would take a chance and say that it is also the most adventurous trophy in sports, as well as the oldest.  Each member of the winning team gets to take the cup with them for a day to share with family and friends.  It has visited the White House and has even been a baptismal font.  You should check out some of the fun facts about it, there are a lot.  Though the Preds haven’t won it yet, we have been very successful as one of the youngest teams in the league.  Our first season was 1998-1999. 

The first Stanley Cup Champions, 1893. 

What an emotional moment for the winning team. 

           

            - Goals.  Goals don’t happen as often in hockey so when your team scores it gives you such a rush.  Players actually have to work for goals in hockey and since they are more sparse, it makes them that more exciting.  This is just a random compilation I found.  They may not be the best goals ever, but they are pretty awesome. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUTOk0at0wE

            - Playoffs.  In case you don’t know each round of the playoffs is played as a best of seven game series.  The playoffs themselves last about two months.  It is intense.  There is nothing like cheering your team in Game 7, the deciding game.  But it is also excited to cheer them to a victory in Game 4, 5, or 6. 

            - Shoot-outs and Sudden Death Overtime.  Need I say more?  It is “edge of your seat” action.  Some very nice shootout goals. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ca47XAuxjI

Basically what I am trying to say is that if you have never been to a hockey game, get your butt out of the house and go to one asap!!

Doesn’t matter what level you watch your bound to have an awesome time.  

manuscripts.

It’s Monday again…and I have so many projects due next week, it’s getting overwhelming.  By the end of the day I am so tired that I just want to make dinner and go to bed, but I have a night class that is literally all about illuminated manuscripts.  They are really interesting and pretty, but at the same time they kind of look like scribbles on a paper.  I just can’t believe I have 14 more weeks of learning about them.   Surely there can’t be much more to learn about them, most don’t even know where half of them came from.  We also have to do formal aesthetic analysis on them, which is just jibber most of the time. 

I can’t stay awake any longer; I have to go to bed.  

mutter.

Day 09 - A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most.

Photo by St2

My mutter has always been there for me, even when I was a teenager and didn’t really ant her around because I was going through that attitude stage. 

All I am I owe to my mother.
- George Washington

chatty.

The reason all these post are late is because bo and I decided last minute to go out of town for the weekend.  We decided to go to Chattanooga.  We haven’t been there in about four years.

We left really early Saturday morning.  I was surprised we got moving as early as we did, it was crazy.  We got some breakfast and heading on down the road.  We stopped to visit my brother czar.  We ate lunch with him, but couldn’t stay too long since he had places to be.  After our delicious organic lunch we were back on the road.

           

Once we arrived in Chattanooga we walked around a bit and headed to the aquarium.  If you have never been to their aquarium, you should go because it is awesome.  We had such a great time.  I still feel terrible about having the animals in cages, but at this aquarium they have got it made.  Their habitats are gorgeous. 

The jellyfish exhibit was cool.

Aren't these stingrays so pretty!

This frog looked liked he had been run over, but he hadn't, I promise.  

Check out this habitat.

Photos by St2

Seahorses are so cute!!

After the aquarium we headed back to the hotel.  We checked in and by then it was about time for the NHL All-Star Super Skills competition.  We went downtown to a bar to watch the different competitions.  The Predators’ Captain Shea Weber got second with hardest shot with 104.5!!!  It was pretty awesome. 

When we got back to the hotel and went swimming, which I haven’t done in forever, but it was still just as much fun as I remember it being (also its great exercise).

Men In Black was on when we got back to the room so we started watching that, but had had a long day so we fell asleep pretty fast. 

When we woke up the next morning we checked out of our hotel, got some breakfast, before heading to the discovery center.  It’s the children’s museum.  It was a great time.  We must have stayed there for at least 3 hours.  We had a blast, it was Sunday so it wasn’t really crowded. 

(I’ll upload more pictures later, my computer wouldn’t let me load anymore images until I deleted some stuff.)

But I had to be back for chapter meeting so we had to leave.  It was a quick, but much need break.  

laugh.

Laughter is an instant vacation. ~Milton Berle

I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like to laugh?  Personally I love it because it can turn a bad day right around, just like this picture.

Day 08 - A picture that makes you laugh.

Photo by St2

This picture is from Halloween, 2 years ago I think.  I know I’ve now posted two pictures from Halloween, but what can I say, it is my favorite holiday! 

I remember this particular Halloween night was a little chilly-er, but that didn’t stop us.  We arrived at the party just after midnight.  It was an awesome time.  This picture makes me laugh every time I look at it. 

Just to clarify, dolly is dressed in a child’s penguin costume, which bo helped her alter into a slutty penguin costume.  She has yellow foot covers, but lost those pretty quickly. 

parm.

Last night I made delicious Chicken Parmesan. As you can probably tell I love to make simple, quick recipes so I hope you like what we came up with.  We just edited a recipe we currently had. 

Photos by St2

St2’s Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 large egg white

½ cup of Parmesan cheese, grated and divided

1 tsp of dried basil

¼ cup of dried breadcrumbs

1 tbsp of fresh parsley, chopped

1 tbsp of butter

2 tsp of balsamic vinegar

1/3 cup of provolone cheese, shredded

1 ½ cup of fat-free tomato sauce*

Salt and pepper

Instructions

            1. Combine ½ the Parmesan cheese with parsley, basil, salt, pepper, and breadcrumbs with a shallow bowl.  In another place the egg white and lightly beat it. 

            2. Dip each chicken in the egg then dredge in the breadcrumb mixture.

            3.  Preheat broiler.

            4. Melt the butter in a large nonstick pan over medium heat. 

            5. Add chicken to pan and cook until done, flipping once. 

            6. While the chicken is cooking combine salt, pepper, and vinegar with the tomato sauce in a bowl.  Cover with a napkin and throw in the microwave for about 2 minutes or until heated through.

            7. When chicken is done, place it in a glass pan and cover with half the sauce.  Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan and provolone cheese. 

            8. Broil until the cheese melts. 

            9. Serve.

*NOTE: I used Newman’s Fat-Free Tomato Basil Sauce and served the chicken over wheat Rotini pasta. 

It was delicious, I hope you enjoy!!

bo.

Day 07 - A picture of you and someone you'd be lost without.

SB09 - PCB

Bo and I have been together for almost 6 years.  That is a long time and even sounds strange when I say it because it really doesn’t feel like that long. 

We have experienced so much together.  We have grown out of high school and started our college careers.  Now Bo is about to graduate college and I cannot believe he has been in school four years already. 

The best curling sweepers, ever.  

We have also traveled a lot together.  We have been to the beach, to Canada, and everywhere in between.  We also go skiing a couple times every year.  We are both definitely people who love winter and the snow.  We will be moving to the somewhere with mountains close by. 

Photos by St2

SB10 - CO.

We are always together and I can’t imagine what I would do without him.  He is my best friend.  When you sit down and really evaluate your life, you realize that love is all you need.  It’s so true.